Mastrodonato: Ron Roenicke and Alex Cora reunite, reminding Red Sox how much can change in one year

HOUSTON — If ever there was a sign of how much things can change in one year, it was the sight of Ron Roenicke, perched in the stands from behind the backstop netting, talking to Alex Cora, who was standing on the field and about to manage the Red Sox at Minute Maid Park.

Thirteen months earlier, Roenicke learned before the last day of the regular season that it would be his final game as the manager of the Red Sox. He had been given a thankless job and asked to do it in the heart of a global pandemic, with an embarrassingly-thin roster and the strong likelihood that the man he previously mentored, Cora, would be replacing him soon.

It was a no-win situation, and Roenicke handled himself with class. Unfortunately, the Red Sox played uninspiring baseball for 60 games, finished in last place and resulted in the entire New England region ignoring the local nine like never before. Ratings reached record lows and most of us wondered if the Sox would do enough to captivate an audience at any point in 2021.

Talking through a fence and holding a notebook in hand, Roenicke, now an advanced scout for the Dodgers, exchanged pleasantries with Cora and a few other Red Sox players who greeted him before the game.

Game 6 of the American League Championship Series was a win-or-go-home situation for the Red Sox. But with the juxtaposition of Roenicke and Cora standing next to each other before the game, it was easy to envision how much the Sox roster changed from one year ago, and how much it could still change one year from now.

Among the biggest differences from ‘20 to ‘21 was of course the managerial change. Not that it’s fair to say Cora would’ve done more with the same club Roenicke had to work with; it lacked depth and played with no energy all year.

One of Cora’s first remarks when he took over the job again was how he wanted this team to play faster and play better defense.

It’s not clear they did either of those things under Cora, and the defense in particular has been a struggle all year long, just as it was in ’20.

In the last two games alone the Sox had Hunter Renfroe’s poor play at the right-field wall that led to the Astros’ big ninth inning off Nathan Eovaldi in Game 4 and Kyle Schwarber’s drop at first base that led to a big inning off Chris Sale in Game 5.

Still, Renfroe and Kiké Hernandez, perhaps Chaim Bloom’s two best signings leading into the year, had undoubtedly changed the Red Sox offense for the better all season, and both will be back next year.

But perhaps the biggest difference from ‘20 to ‘21 is the same reason to be excited about what’s to come in ‘22, no matter how the ‘21 season finishes up: Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck.

The two rookie pitchers were sensational and have continued to flash dominance in the postseason, so much so that Cora was asked about both of them before Game 6 on Friday.

Houck figures to be a key fixture in the starting rotation for years to come, but had thrown just one inning over the first five games in the ALCS after throwing six innings in the four-game Division Series against the Rays.

It was largely expected that Houck would piggy-back off Sale in Game 5, but Cora instead went to Ryan Brasier, who couldn’t stop the bleeding as the Astros pounded the Sox, 9-1.

Where has Houck been in this series?

“There were two blowout games,” Cora said. “And Game 4, we had Whitlock. Then we had Nate in Game 5, we had Sale going 5-1/3 and Brasier. … it’s just the nature of the series. This is not, ‘we’re going to pitch this guy because he’s good or because he’s Tanner Houck.’ It has to be at one point, a window that we’re going to use him and hopefully the hope is that it’s (Game 6 and Game 7).”

Whitlock had been lights out most of the postseason until Game 4, when he blew the save in the eighth inning by serving up a game-tying home run to Jose Altuve.

Overall, Whitlock and Houck have combined to throw 16 innings with a 3.38 ERA and 14 strikeouts to just two walks this postseason.

Next year, both could be in the starting rotation when the playoffs roll around.

“Let’s keep him a reliever for the next ten days,” Cora said laughing. “But obviously, we believe he can be a starter with time, but you never know what can happen in the future.”

The Sox will surely need to address their pitching depth in the offseason, especially after having just one lefty reliever they can trust, Josh Taylor, and struggling with the Astros’ lefty bats this series.

They’ll need another starter. They may want to try to re-sign Kyle Schwarber.

More roster moves are coming, as they always do.

Watching Roenicke and Cora in the same place on Friday, it’s easy to remember how much can change in one year.